


Baby, When You're Gone

by fortunehasgivenup



Series: And did you know that I'm wild for your skin [13]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: AU, Cunnilingus, Domestic, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Family, Light Bondage, Multiple Orgasms, Phone Sex, Sex Toys, Squirting, Tattoo AU, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:34:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22563322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortunehasgivenup/pseuds/fortunehasgivenup
Summary: Time passes. January, Rio has to head out of town for a few days and comes back with new ink. February is birthday parties and Valentine's Day. March brings spring and change.
Relationships: Beth Boland/Rio
Series: And did you know that I'm wild for your skin [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1377679
Comments: 30
Kudos: 190





	Baby, When You're Gone

**Author's Note:**

> A quick warning:  
> \- There is a brief mention of a secondary character (Lia) having experienced domestic violence. This happens while Rio is being tattooed, in the paragraph after this line, “And I’m glad that I finally get to repay the favour.”

**January**

“Remember that conference I mentioned a while back?”

Beth nodded.

“It’s coming up. Next weekend. Means I’m away for a few days,” Rio said, joining her on the couch. “Five total, though the first and last are the travel days.”

“Marcus stays with Cassie?” she asked.

He nodded.

“I’ll miss you,” Beth told him, moving to snuggle against his chest. “What do you even do at a tattoo convention?”

“Network. Tattoo, get tattooed.”

She shifted, hunting for the best position. “You getting anything done while you’re there?”

He smiled. “Want to know if you’ll be losing a patch of bare skin?”

“I should say goodbye to it if you are,” Beth stroked her fingers over the base of his neck. “Don’t you think?”

Laughing, he wrapped a hand around her neck and tugged her a little closer. “I might. But it depends.”

“So you might just come home with a little less skin?” Beth trailed her hand down his chest until she could slip it beneath the hem of his t-shirt.

“Yup.” His stomach was warm to the touch as Beth moved his shirt up a little higher.

“Then I guess that I’ll have to say goodbye to all of them,” she said, setting her fingers on a bare patch of skin on his side. Rio started to smile at that, his head coming towards hers, when Beth’s head jerked up. “You aren’t getting a dick tattoo, are you?”

Laughing, Rio pulled her in for a kiss. “No, Elizabeth,” he said after he let her go. “I’m not getting a dick tattoo.”

Beth sighed. “Okay, I think that might have been too much for me.”

“Would have been the limit to your ink kink?” Rio teased her.

Beth jabbed him in the belly. “I do not have an -“ she trailed off.

“Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.” Rio nudged her backwards until she was lying on the couch. “We both know that’s a lie.”

————————————

“Call me when you get in?” Beth asked.

Rio nodded, pressing his forehead against hers. “Don’t stay up though. If I get delayed or anything -“

Beth scowled at him. “I’ll stay up if I want to.”

“Course you will.” Rio shifted to kiss her on the temple. “Call me if you need me,” he said, stroking his fingers through her hair with a soft smile.

“I will,” Beth promised. She kissed him softly. “Have fun. Not too much though.”

Laughing, Rio adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder. “Will do.” He kissed her again, then moved to join the security line. Beth waited until he was out of sight, then went to grab a coffee to keep her company on the drive home.

January had been quiet, but with the end of the month approaching, things were picking up again, especially with event bookings.

“Valentine’s Day?” Beth said as she tidied up the living room. “Really?”

Ruby’s laugh was slightly distorted by the phone, but Beth could hear it without a problem. “Really.”

Beth made a face. “Do we even have the time?” she asked. She could imagine most of the schedule in her head, but Ruby was sitting in front of it.

“Yeah, but it’ll be the last booking we can take,” Ruby said. “No way in hell can we squeeze another one in.”

Beth rubbed her forehead, only to wince when it brought a pair of Kenny’s socks way too close to her face. She tossed the socks into the laundry basket. “Take the booking, but with the time frame, they’re going to have to pay a bigger deposit.”

“Already told ‘em them,” Ruby told her. “They agreed. Apparently the organizer went to that event we did for the accountants back in the fall and really liked us.”

“Did she?” Beth smiled. Some part of her was still expecting them to crash and burn at any moment, even though they’d been doing steady business for years at this point. Hearing good feedback always felt nice.

“She did.” Ruby hummed a little as she entered the event into their schedule. “Added! I’ll finalize the schedule with everyone and make our orders.”

“Call me if you need anything else,” Beth said, bending down to pick up some of Jane’s stuffed animals.

“See you tomorrow, Bee.”

“Bye!” Beth straightened up to end the call and threw the toys in the direction of the stairs for Jane to take up when she came home from school.

Putting her hands on her hips, she surveyed the living room. How did everyone’s stuff always end up here? She straightened the pillows, finding another sock, one of Rio’s rings, and a handful of hair ties and bobby pins.

Beth shook her head. Ever since they’d discovered Rio’s talent for braiding, Jane and Emma had been demanding increasingly elaborate hairstyles. Rio, for his part, had taken it all in stride and would let the girls cue up YouTube tutorials for him to follow sometimes. She put the pins and ties in the bathroom with all the others, only to get distracted by the lack of hand soap.

“Knock knock!” Annie said from the kitchen.

Beth jumped, hitting her head on the cabinet. She yelped, grabbing the back of her head.

“Uh oh,” Annie said from much closer. “That didn’t sound good.”

Beth rubbed her head where she’d hit it and groaned. “For that, you’re re-filling the soap.”

Annie took the soap refill bottle. “I’m not sure you want that, Beth. Remember what happened last time?”

Beth did remember the last time. “Do it in the shower.”

To her surprise, Annie did.

“Did we have plans today?” Beth asked her sister as she slowly stood up, wincing at the noise her back made.

“You must have hit your head pretty hard to completely forget your schedule,” Annie commented. “And no, we didn’t. But I was wondering if you wanted to supervise me at the mall.”

“Supervise you?”

Annie nodded. “I need to get a new concealer, but I need supervision to make sure that I don’t buy other stuff.”

“Annie,” Beth scolded, “you’re an adult.”

“Yeah, and?” Annie handed her the soap dispenser and the refill bottle. “I’m also hoping to peer pressure you into buying stuff so that I can live vicariously through you.”

“So you can borrow it, more like,” Beth replied, putting everything back. “Fine, I’ll come to the mall.”

\---------------------

That night, Rio called when he landed, but couldn’t talk for long, which made Jane pout.

“Honey,” Beth said, patting her shoulder, “Rio’s busy right now.”

“I know,” Jane mumbled, kicking her foot back and forth as she leaned against the sink, preparing her toothbrush. “But I miss him!”

Smiling, Beth bent down to kiss the top of her head. “He misses you too, Jane. But he’s been gone for less than a day and you’ll see him when you come back from your dad’s, remember?”

Jane sighed. “I know, but he’ll message you! At Daddy’s, I don’t get to see pictures and stuff.”

Beth stroked Jane’s hair back. The kids didn’t have their own phones yet and Beth had done what she could to keep them off social media.

“How about I show you how to look at Rio’s Instagram on the iPad?” Beth offered. He only ever posted his work, so she wasn’t worried about Jane seeing anything inappropriate.

Jane placated, Beth checked in on Emma, then Danny, and finally Kenny.

“All packed for the weekend?” Beth asked.

Kenny nodded, not looking up from his science homework.

“Don’t forget to get your dad to take you to pick up poster board. You still have the glue and things at his place?”

Another nod. In the early days, Beth never would have let the kids finish any kind of school project at Dean’s for fear that it wouldn’t get done. She still had Jane, Emma, and Danny do most of theirs here at the house, but they’d figured out a balance with Kenny.

“And you -“

“I printed out my cards earlier,” he said, lifting his head. “I’ll cut them and glue them onto the construction paper at Dad’s.”

Beth held up her hands. “Alright! Just checking!”

Kenny smiled. “I know. But you don’t have to.”

Beth put a hand out to flatten his hair. “I’m proud of you,” she told him. “You’ve been doing really well this year and it’s because of you and the effort that you’ve been putting in.”

Kenny’s cheeks reddened and he ducked his head.

“Don’t stay up too late,” she warned him, then left his room to check that Jane had actually gone to bed.

The remainder of her evening was quiet, but before she went to bed, she messaged Rio.

_Miss you. Good night._

In the morning, she woke up to a response. _Beds feel empty without you in em._

Biting her lip, she rolled out of bed to start her day.

—————————

When Beth got home that night, she practically collapsed onto the couch. She was just drifting into a nap when her phone buzzed.

Moaning, she slapped out her hand to grab it.

“‘Lo?”

“Hi Beth!” Marcus greeted her.

She sat up, heart starting to beat faster. “Hi honey. Is everything ok?”

“Oh yeah,” Marcus assured her. “Me and my mom are gonna make cookies but we have a question.”

Beth breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, shoot.”

There was a bit of muffled speech, like Marcus had covered the mouthpiece, then he came back. “What’s the difference between granulated,” he pronounced the word very carefully, “and caster sugar?”

After explaining that it wouldn’t have much of an effect on their cookies, she and Marcus chatted for a few more minutes. Jenny at school was being mean to Jack. Jack had pushed Katelyn on the playground. Ginnifer had scored perfect on the social studies test, Marcus had only gotten one wrong.

“That’s great!” Beth exclaimed.

“Thanks for helping me study,” Marcus said.

Beth could hear Cassie saying something. “No problem. I’m so proud of you!” She could just picture Marcus beaming at her, the way he always did when he got a compliment. “But I’d better let you go so that you can be a good sous chef for your mom.”

“Yes, chef!” Marcus replied. He’d recently become enamoured with the idea of working in a kitchen. “Bye Beth!”

“Bye Marcus,” Beth said with a smile. Feeling slightly more energized, she pushed herself back up to get started on dinner.

As she waited, she sorted through the pile of mail and papers by the kitchen door. Bill, solicitation, crumpled homework page, bake sale notice, permission slip, bill, junk. At the bottom of the pile was a familiar black book.

Beth picked up the sketchbook that Rio was always carting around with him. He’d never said that she couldn’t look at it, though another part of her head reminded her that he’d never offered to let her look either. She ran her fingers over the cover and bit her lip.

She flipped it open.

Rio was a talented artist on skin, even Beth knew that. But his sketches were gorgeous. Most were done with a fine black marker, probably the one she saw him twirling between his fingers all of the time.

She flipped to the next page and froze. It was a piece of flash - she recognized the style now from Rio’s mini lessons - but there was something familiar about the buxom red head perched on the hood of a black car, her plaid button up tied just beneath her breasts, which were nearly bursting out.

Beth stared at the image. It was her. He’d drawn her. She put her hand on the page and traced the edges. The longer she looked at it, the redder she got, until she had to look at something else. Except the next page was a realistic sketch of her in profile. When had he drawn this? Had she not been paying attention?

The next wasn’t of her, it was a skull and crossbones, only with rolling pins that said “Talk shit, get hit” around the motif. She chuckled to herself. Sharing the page was a stylized rendition of her van.

Another page. This one, the queen of hearts with her face.

A barebones sketch of her lying in bed, asleep. You could tell that she was naked, her body half turned so that the curve of her breast was visible.

Beth slammed the sketchbook shut and took several deep breaths. Then opened it again. Not all of the pages were sketches of her or related to her. Some were tattoo designs, drawings of Marcus or little scenes from Rio’s day. The kids running around the backyard. A bird taking off.

When she reached the end, she turned back and went through it all again. She wanted to pick up the phone and call him, but he probably hadn’t finished for the day yet and if he had, he’d be en route to his hotel and distracted, so she put it away with the promise to call him later.

Dinner was quiet, especially after becoming used to eating with Rio or Rio and Marcus when the kids weren’t around. She had a glass of bourbon and painted her toenails, did a face mask.

She was just contemplating whether or not it was late enough to call Rio when her phone started to buzz. Grabbing it, her heart skipped a beat at the photo of Rio on the screen. He was standing at the stove, dish towel over one shoulder and glaring at the camera.

She answered the call.

“Hey,” Beth sighed into the phone, “how was your day?”

“You about to fall asleep on me?” he asked instead of answering.

She groaned and stretched. “No, just a little sleepy.”

“It’s 10 o’clock where you are,” he said, clearly amused.

“And?” Beth covered her mouth as she yawned. “I’ve been awake for ages. I wake up early, remember?”

Rio laughed. “Like I could ever forget.” She could picture him lying on his hotel bed, phone to his ear, free hand resting on his belly as he spoke to her.

“Where are you?” she asked.

“My hotel room.”

Beth hummed. “What are you wearing?”

There was a loaded pause. “You mean that like I think you mean it?” His voice was a little rougher.

Making a quick decision, Beth replied, “I’m just wearing panties and your t-shirt.” She bit her lip as she moved her hand down to rub herself softly.

“So that’s where my shirt disappeared to,” he said.

Beth grinned, pressing a little harder against her clit through the lace. “You don’t even know which shirt I’m wearing.”

“The dark grey one I wore a couple weeks ago to your place,” Rio said.

She flushed. Maybe she hadn’t been as sneaky as she thought.

“I don’t own that many clothes, Elizabeth. I notice when they disappear. To answer your question, I’m wearing clothes, but they’re coming off.”

She could hear rustling. She circled her fingers around her belly button a couple of times, then slipped them down between the lace and her skin.

“You get your fingers in yet?” he asked.

She paused. “No.”

“Don’t.”

Beth frowned. “Why not?”

“Not yet,” he amended. “Please.”

Sighing, she pulled her hand from her panties. “Fine.”

“You in bed?”

“Uh huh.” A bed that had started to feel too big when he wasn’t in it with her.

He groaned. “We need to get you something for when I’m gone.”

“Something?”

“Yeah,” he replied, “there’s no way your fingers are gonna be enough, are they, sweetheart? They’re not long enough to get where you want ‘em and I bet you’ve got to get four shoved inside your pussy for them to be enough.”

Beth stopped breathing.

“That’s a little cocky, don’t you think?” she snapped, ignoring the shiver she got at his words and rubbing over her clit again.

“You’re forgetting, Elizabeth, I’ve seen those little hands of yours, felt ‘em. Do you know how hot it is when you wrap them around my cock? Fuck, those slim fingers ain’t gonna give you near as much as you need. You’ve gotten used to mine opening you up, gotten used to my cock, haven’t you?”

Beth’s moan was echoed by his.

“We’ll get you something so you can take care of yourself properly, when I’m away,” he said. “Something that goes deep, reaches that little patch of nerves that makes you clench around me.”

“Let me use my fingers,” she gasped.

“No.” A pause. “You touching yourself still? You are. Take your hand away, Elizabeth, put it on your belly.”

She whimpered, but did as instructed.

“You and me should go on a vacation,” he said, “go somewhere with room service and fuck all weekend.”

Beth liked the sound of that.

“I wouldn’t let you put on a thing until we left. I’d just watch you walk around, naked.”

“Oh?” Beth smiled to herself. “What if I get cold?”

He laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll warm you up if that happens.”

“Let me touch myself,” she said.

“I’m not sure I want that.” Rio’s breathing hitched. “Maybe I want to get home to find you all hot and bothered. Maybe I don’t want you to come unless I’m there to see it.”

Beth bit the inside of her cheek at that.

“That’s hardly fair,” she settled on saying.

“No?”

“No, it isn’t. You being allowed to, but not me?” She shook her head. “That doesn’t sound fair.”

“Who said I was going to finish?” he replied.

Beth blinked. “You’re touching yourself right now.”

“Uh huh,” Rio confirmed. “But you didn’t tell me not to.”

That hit Beth in the pit of her belly and it took her mind a second to catch up. “Hands off,” she said.

He chuckled. “Alright, they’re off.”

Beth swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.

“You’re really not going to -“

“Nope,” Rio confirmed. “And neither are you.”

Beth trembled slightly.

“Then when I get home,” he went on, “I’m gonna get you in bed and we’re not getting out for hours.”

She pressed her hand against her mouth to stifle the noise she made, though she didn’t quite succeed.

“How’s that sound?” he rasped.

Beth sighed. “Sounds like it’s going to be forever.”

Rio made a noise of amusement. “It’s two nights.”

“And two full days!” Beth said. “You don’t get back until late.”

“True. You gonna be asleep when I get back?”

“You coming to my house?” Beth asked.

“I could be persuaded,” he replied.

“Could you now?” Beth curled up on her side, running her hand over the spot where she was getting used to Rio sleeping. “I miss you.”

He was quiet and then, “I miss you too, Elizabeth.”

“It’s weird,” she said. “We spend more time apart than this sometimes, but it must be something about you being so far away.”

“Yeah, well I don’t like you being alone in that big house,” Rio said.

Beth snorted. “No? Why not?”

“The house feels empty,” he replied, “and you get to thinking. Not in a good way.”

Beth’s thoughts flashed back to earlier in the day when she’d teared up while doing the laundry.

“You okay?” he asked carefully.

“I’m fine,” she assured him.

He hummed like he didn’t believe her. “You got plans tomorrow night?”

“Bachelor night.”

“Ah,” he laughed, “how could I forget.”

Beth turned onto her side. “You gonna call me?”

“It’ll be later,” he said. “Probably closer to midnight your time.”

“That’s okay, I just want to hear your voice.”

———————

Conventional wisdom was to not tattoo the names of your partners onto your body. It was one of the few pieces of conventional wisdom that Rio actually listened to.

That being said, there was a lot of room between inking Elizabeth’s name on his skin and having nothing.

So now here he was, face down on a table as Lia added a cluster of flowers to his back. Maybe they were flowers that Elizabeth loved and grew, but who could say for sure.

“When do I get to meet her?”

“Never,” Rio grumbled, staying still. The pain from the tattoo gun radiated from his side, sharpening and fading whenever Lia reloaded the ink.

“Aw, don’t be like that,” Lia chuckled. “I never get to see you anymore.”

“You’re the one that moved to Seattle,” he reminded her. “Not my fault.”

She was quiet for a moment. “Well, I’m glad that I got to see you this weekend,” she said. “And I’m glad that I finally get to repay the favour.”

She was referring to the scar on her side, a deep slash her ex-boyfriend had given her when she broke up with him. Rio had designed a tattoo around it, worked on it after hours on his own time, never letting her pay a dime. Lia had fallen in love with tattooing the same way that he had when Jack had taken Rio under his wing. She’d been his first apprentice.

“No repayment necessary,” Rio told her for the hundredth time.

“Shut up,” she jabbed him in the hip. “We both know that you’d feel the same if the circumstances were reversed. She good with Marcus?” Lia’s hand on his back moved to wipe up blood and ink.

Rio hummed. “She’s got four kids.”

Lia whistled. “Shit, really?”

“Yeah. Her youngest is Marcus’ age.”

“You’re gonna be a daddy of five,” Lia’s voice was full of laughter, “this is amazing. She hot?”

“Hottest woman I’ve ever met in my life,” Rio said. “She’s a red head.”

“She got the personality to match?”

He smiled into the table. “She doesn’t think she does, but she does.”

Lia made a noise clearly intended as a question.

“Her ex was a dick,” Rio explained. “Cheated on her, talked down to her. Shit like that.”

“You punch him out?” Lia asked, the needle setting against his skin again.

“No,” Rio answered, “I’ve been good. He’s at least smart enough to steer clear of me.”

“Well,” Lia said, “I expect to meet her next time I’m out your way. Her and those four kids of hers.”

“Better come soon,” Rio told her, “or Marcus might start forgetting what his Auntie Lia looks like.”

She gasped. “Don’t even joke about that, Rio.”

“You should try to come around his birthday. He’d love that.”

“Detroit in February?” Lia was incredulous. “It’s cold there.”

“It’s cold here!” Rio tried to argue.

“Uh uh, it’s a different cold, so don’t even try that. I got rid of my parka when I moved out of Michigan.”

“You didn’t have a parka,” he scoffed. “You never fucking dressed properly for the winter.”

“Yeah,” Lia said, “and I was cold!”

He shook his head.

Later, all bandaged up and dressed again, Rio wandered the hall, stopping to say hello to some familiar faces - ones of people he’d worked on or who had worked on him, or people he’d met at other conventions.

Without really thinking about it, he found himself thinking about what Beth would think in a space like this. She’d rapidly adapted to the shop, but when it came to the more extreme body mods, he was curious. Maybe one day he’d be able to convince her to come with him for a convention. They could take a vacation after too, spend some time together, just the two of them.

He liked the idea of that and decided to keep an eye on the upcoming events. With luck, he’d be able to get her to go somewhere she’d enjoy.

The day wound down, leaving him to fill his evening with some old friends and acquaintances.

“Shit,” Rio said, rubbing his face as he stood with an artist he’d been running into for years.

Mel lifted her eyebrow and the two rings attached to it. “What?”

“I feel old,” Rio replied, gesturing to the younger artists who were treating the bar like they were pregaming on their way to something else. “I was just thinking about going to bed.”

Mel laughed. “Hey, it wasn’t that long ago you would have been out with them.” She nudged him.

“Yeah, like a solid five years,” Rio said.

Mel hummed. “I suppose you weren’t much for partying.”

“Some of us have criminal records and children, Melanie,” Rio shot back.

“I have cats,” Mel shrugged. Like he could have forgotten that fact.

Rio laughed. “Oh, I know. How’s that holding up, by the way?”

Mel turned and tugged her shirt out of the way so Rio could see the cat he’d tattooed on her a few years ago. “Bart and I are just fine,” Mel said as she righted her clothing. “What’s this I hear about you having another kid or something?”

Rio’s brows pulled together. “My girlfriend has kids,” he answered.

Mel leaned close. “Show me!”

He found himself showing Mel photos of Beth and the kids. The Christmas cookies they’d made. Jane and Marcus at soccer during the summer. Mel cooed over them.

“Shit,” she muttered, “you’re making me think that I want kids.” She made a face and shook her head.

“Don’t you have like nine nephews?” Rio asked, showing her a photo of him and Marcus with Buddy that Beth had taken.

Mel nodded. “Why do you think I don’t want kids?”

Rio laughed and tried not to think too much about how much he missed all of them.

———————————

Beth heard the car pulling into the driveway from upstairs and practically ran downstairs in time for her to see the lock turn and Rio step in.

He grinned at her, but didn’t say anything as she threw her arms around his neck.

Beth lifted herself up onto her toes to kiss Rio firmly. “Hi,” she greeted him.

“Hi,” he parroted back at her with a grin. “Miss me?”

“Hmmm, wouldn’t go that far,” she said, starting to unbutton his shirt. Rio slowly raised a brow, but let her keep going until she went to push the garment from his shoulders.

“We gotta be careful,” Rio said.

Beth paused, looking up at him. “Are you okay?” She stroked the scruff on his cheek.

“Yeah, just got some new ink,” he explained, turning his head to kiss her palm.

New ink? Beth looked down at his chest, scanning the familiar lines, but not seeing anything new. “Where?”

“My back.” His hand went under the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it off of her, breath hitching when he saw her bare breasts. “How about we go to the bedroom?”

Beth hummed. “What, you don’t want to have sex in the entryway?” She cupped him through his pants.

“Oh, I’d love to,” Rio turned her around and directed her towards her - their - bedroom, “but I remember there being a rule about my bare ass in family spaces.”

Beth grinned to herself, but the second that they were inside the bedroom, Rio tugged down her panties and planted a light smack to one ass cheek. She yelped and spun to face him only to wind up with her mouth locked with his.

She moaned as he wrapped himself around her.

Rio’s hands dug into Beth’s back, pulling her closer. She wanted to return the favour, but was conscious of the fresh tattoo on his back. The last thing she wanted to do was irritate it while it was healing.

“You gone tame on me while I was away?” Rio asked when he pulled away.

She flushed. “I don’t want to mess up your back.”

“You’re not going to mess up my back,” Rio told her. “But I’m sure we can work something out to make sure that you don’t.”

“Oh?” Beth gasped as he pinched her nipple at the same moment he ran his teeth down her neck.

“Plenty of ways to keep your hands out of commission,” he said.

He dropped to his knees and buried his face against her belly. His fingers slid up her hips.

“Still want to insist that you didn’t miss me?” Rio teased as he slid his fingers back and forth between her legs, gathering and spreading her wetness around. “Feels to me like you did.”

Beth decided she’d had enough of being upright and stumbled back to collapse onto the bed. “Don’t worry about me,” she told him with a false air of disinterest, “I can take care of myself.”

Rio laughed as he followed her, tugging at her legs to hold her near the edge of the mattress. “Oh I know you can,” he agreed, “but I also know that when you do that, you wish it was me. You told me that once.”

“I changed my mind,” Beth told him as he sank two fingers into her.

“Uh huh?” Rio moved his fingers slowly, barely at all really.

She shut her eyes and focused on the sensation of his fingers.

“That don’t look like you changed your mind,” he said as he crooked them. “Looks like you’re getting pretty desperate for it.”

“And you aren’t?”

He just laughed and started to rub and circle his fingers in earnest, building her towards a fast orgasm without delay. She could feel it coming, building up, when he stopped touching her.

“Rio,” Beth reached out for him, but he stood up with a smirk.

“Wait a minute, Elizabeth,” he instructed, then walked to the bathroom. He came back with the tie of one of her silk robes in his hand. Beth’s breath stopped. “Gotta keep your hands out of play, remember?”

Rio bent down to kiss her, then coaxed her onto her belly. He placed her hands at her lower back, crossing at the wrist and began to wrap the silk tie around them.

“This gets uncomfortable, you tell me,” he said as he went. “You want free, just tell me.”

“I know,” Beth sighed.

Finally, he was content with whatever he’d done.

“Relax,” he said. Demanded. Beth took a deep breath and made an effort to relax into the mattress. His fingers came down to tease her, rubbing her clit, then dipping just inside of her before retreating, repeating.

The bed shifted as he moved and Beth flexed her hands.

“You good?” he asked, picking up on the action right away.

“Yeah,” she said. “Just not used to having nothing to hold onto.”

“Ah.” Rio got off the bed. She was about to ask him where he was going or to lift up and take a look for herself when he used his hands to hold her open and pressed a filthy kiss right to her cunt.

Beth gasped, jerking away from him instinctively, but Rio shifted his grip so that he was holding her open with one hand and holding onto her bound hands with the other.

“Oh!”

He moaned against her, pressing even closer to bury his tongue inside of her. Beth squirmed, torn between shoving back against his lips and trying to evade them.

It didn’t matter what she did, he stayed with her. He moved languidly, like they had all the time in the world. Like he was kissing her good morning.

Beth shifted restlessly. “Rio, please.”

He didn’t answer with his words, just pulled back to run his nose over her entrance, then dove back in.

Despite his slow pace, she was already primed enough that the sensations quickly built towards an orgasm. She was rubbing herself against his face, moaning and panting, nearly there.

He stopped and she growled.

“Don’t you da-“ the rest of the sentence was cut off by him thrusting inside of her without warning.

Her fingers curled uselessly against Rio’s stomach as he slowly moved his hips back and forth.

“How’s that feel, Elizabeth?” he asked, rocking into her.

She panted, trying to summon the words necessary to describe it. “Good,” was all she could come up with.

His big hands squeezed her ass. “You lose your words, baby?” he teased, his thumbs coming down to rub at the skin that was stretching around his cock.

“Rio,” she moaned, trying to move her arms so that she could grab hold of him, but his skin didn’t give her anything to grab.

“Right here,” he replied, pulling out. One of his hands came up to twine with hers.

“Don’t tease,” she begged.

The slow drag of his cock inside of her had her squirming. “Am I teasing you?” Rio asked, doing his best to sound innocent.

“Just fuck me,” she said. “Make me come, please.”

He let out a harsh breath. He liked it when she talked dirty. She squeezed around him.

“Please, Rio,” she said, “make me come on your cock.”

He hissed and it was like she’d flipped a switch. All at once, he was giving her exactly what she’d been craving - the slap of their bodies together filling the room.

“Oh god,” Beth moaned. This time, Rio didn’t stop at the impending signs of her orgasm. He pushed through them, shoving her over the edge and not letting up. He reached between her legs to massage her clit as he hunted for his own peak and Beth wailed as her orgasm, waning, filled her again.

As she voiced her pleasure, she felt him start to come as well. His stomach jumped against her hands, but he was quiet.

After a moment, he undid the tie and massaged her wrists before turning her over onto her back.

“You like that?” he asked, kissing her hands.

Unable to make her mouth form words, Beth nodded.

“You good?” he asked.

Another nod. “You?” she managed to croak.

“I’m good,” he answered, coming to rest on top of her, head between her breasts. “Missed you.”

Beth hummed.

They lay like that for a moment before Beth jolted. “I want to see the tattoo!” she said.

Rio nuzzled her chest, kissing the curve of her breast, then shifted off her so that he was lying on his belly next to her.

She saw it right away, filling a space that had been bare and extending a little to join with another tattoo.

Beth studied the cluster of flowers on Rio’s back. The lines were still tender looking, not yet at the peeling stage. She set her hand just beside it, framing it with her thumb and forefinger. She recognized each and every bloom.

“It’s beautiful,” she said.

Rio hummed.

“It’s my favourite flowers.”

He hummed again.

“I looked in your sketchbook,” she said.

Rio shifted so he could lift his head from the pillows. “Yeah?”

Beth nodded. “I shouldn’t have pried.”

“Nah, it’s okay. It’s a full one, no works in progress. That one I carry with me.” He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. “See anything you like?”

“You drew pictures of me.”

“Yeah.”

“And a bunch of tattoos with a common theme.” She grinned. “Talk shit, get hit? Really?”

“It’s a classic!” Rio insisted, tugging the piece of hair.

“With rolling pins?” She shoved at his chest. “They aren’t in your portfolio, are they?”

He immediately got serious. “No.” She relaxed slightly and he noticed. “I’d never put those on anyone. Ever,” he swore. “They’re for me and you, just stuff I drew up when I couldn’t think about anything else.”

“You saying that you think about me a lot?” Beth lifted her chin so she could slide her fist underneath it, propping her head up.

“All the time, Elizabeth.”

Beth smiled. “I think about you a lot too, I just don’t really know how to draw.”

“Yeah you do,” Rio replied, “I’ve seen your stick people. They’re fantastic.”

She groaned. “Don’t even.” She kneed him in the thigh.

“What do you do when you think about me then?” Rio asked, resting his hands on her lower back with an exaggerated grin.

“Don’t tease,” she groaned. “I need a while to recover.”

He laughed, kissing her shoulder and collapsing back. “Then how about we go the fuck to sleep.”

———————————

Whether there was a sound or some paternal spideysense, Rio came awake somewhere around 2am a couple of days later.

Groaning, he looked around to see if anything was out of place. There wasn’t a storm, nothing loud outside, so what -

The creak of the floorboards outside the bedroom had him sliding out from beneath the heavy duvet. Beth mumbled something and shifted towards the spot he’d just vacated. He kissed her forehead, grabbed a shirt, and went to the door.

Emma was standing there. “Is my mommy awake?” she asked, swaying a little.

Rio shook his head. “What’s wrong?”

“I threw up.”

It was, thankfully, not as bad as Rio immediately assumed. She’d woken up not feeling great and gone to the bathroom.

He checked her temperature. Normal. Asked her what she’d had for dinner. Washed her face and coaxed her into brushing her teeth.

He set her back up, finding what she called the “vomit bucket” in the linen closet to put next to her bed.

“Feel like you’re going to be sick again?” he asked, pushing her hair back off of her face.

Emma shook her head. “No. I think I’ll be okay.”

“Alright,” Rio said. “You can wake me or your mom up if it happens again.”

She nodded, then turned onto her side.

He watched for a moment, then closed Emma’s bedroom door behind himself.

Beth snuggled up to him when he got back into bed. “Where’d you go?” she mumbled.

“Emma got sick,” he said, tightening his hold on her shoulders when she started to sit up. “She’s okay now. Not running a fever. She’s back in bed, falling asleep. You can check on her in the morning.”

She settled back beside him. “Mkay.”

————————————

**February**

Cassie practically squealed when Beth uncovered the cake. “This is the cutest thing that I have ever seen!” She reached out to grab Beth’s arm. “He’s going to lose it.”

Beth laughed, looking around to make sure that Marcus wasn’t in hearing distance. “The icing is definitely going to dye some tongues black, but it’ll fade pretty quick.”

“It’ll be worth it,” Cassie waved away the warning. “Seriously, if you didn’t already do this as your job, I’d tell you that you needed to start.”

“Thanks.” Beth set out the knife that she’d brought to cut and picked up the candles that Cassie had left on the counter. “Seven,” she said, “he’s getting so big.”

Cassie sighed. “Don’t remind me. Logan said he’ll be learning to drive in a few years.”

“Nine isn’t a few,” Beth laughed.

“I know, but it’s going to feel like a week before it happens.” Cassie straightened up as Marcus came into the kitchen, trailed by a group of kids. “Nope,” she immediately said, “not cake time yet.”

“But -“

“No buts,” Cassie said, re-directing him towards the living room. “Another ten minutes. We’ll call you.”

Marcus led the charge back out, making Cassie chuckle.

“He’s going to turn into a mini Rio, isn’t he?” Cassie sighed. “Let’s hope he doesn’t stall at the troublemaker phase.”

Beth laughed. “He’s a good kid. He might do some dumb stuff, but he knows right and wrong. He knows he can come to you guys if he did something wrong and that you’ll listen to him.”

“And you,” Cassie said, lightly bumping her hip against Beth’s. “He knows he can go to you too.”

Beth didn’t fight her pleased smile. Marcus had started saving certain homework to do with her, usually reading or anything involving crafts.

“I’ve been replaced,” Rio had joked with a hand over his heart. Within seconds, Kenny had roped him into helping with math.

Cassie threw her arm around Beth’s shoulder and squeezed. “We ready to open the gates and let the animals out?”

Laughing, Beth got a knife. “Ready when you are.”

The squeals of the kids and the compliments of the adults buoyed Beth’s mood even higher. She listened as Marcus bragged to his school friends that she was the best baker and that she made stuff all the time.

Beth met Rio’s eye as they ate their slices, hovering around the table and making sure that the kids behaved. He grinned at her, then stuck out his tongue, which had turned a little black. Beth groaned. She was likely no better.

Cake finished with, the kids got up to play as Beth started to clear the table.

Marcus ran into the kitchen and hugged Beth tightly. “I love my cake,” he said with a big grin.

“Yeah?” Beth laughed as she hugged him back.

He nodded as he pulled back. “It’s the best cake I’ve ever had,” he whispered, conspiratorially.

Having had Paola’s cake and knowing how good it was, it meant a lot and she gave his forehead a kiss. When she pulled away, Marcus looked a little accusatory.

“Did you get lipstick on me?” he asked.

His uncle came into the kitchen in time to hear that and cut in. “Marcus, you never ask a lady if she got lipstick on you. You accept it as the token of affection it is, then make a break for the bathroom when she’s turned around.”

Marcus screwed up his mouth, but didn’t respond.

Beth just smiled. “No lipstick,” she promised. “You’re good to go.”

He raced off to rejoin the other kids, leaving Beth with Nick, who was shaking his head and laughing under his breath.

“You didn’t make me a Spider-man cake.”

Beth leaned into Rio as he wrapped himself around her from behind without warning.

“You didn’t ask for a Spider-man cake,” she reminded him.

He scoffed. “I didn’t know it was an option.”

“Should have dreamed bigger,” Beth told him, reaching up to pat him on the cheek. “Besides, Spider-man isn’t even your favourite. You’d ask for a Wolverine cake.”

Rio perked up. “Can you make a Wolverine cake?”

“I don’t know,” Beth said. “Can I?”

Scowling, he bent down to give her a kiss, which was promptly interrupted by Alex running into their legs and wrapping his arms around them.

“Hi,” he said when Beth looked down.

“Hi,” Beth responded, reaching down for him. He was happy to be lifted and reached out to touch the ends of her hair.

“Orange,” he said.

Beth laughed. “Yup, orange.”

“We call it red, little man,” Rio told his nephew. “Maybe strawberry blonde or something.”

Alex shook his head. “Orange.”

Beth bounced him a little, making him lose interest in Rio in order to giggle happily.

When she stopped, he patted her chest. “Bed, again!” He seemed to have trouble with her name and had just taken to calling her Bed, much to Rio’s amusement.

She bounced him again a few times, passing him over to Rio on the last one.

Alex wrapped his hands around Rio’s neck and held on. With a sigh, his head dropped onto Rio’s shoulder and he seemed to drop off to sleep.

Smiling, Beth moved his brown curls back. His eyes opened and he grinned back at Beth.

“Tired?” she asked him, settling her hand on his back and rubbing. Alex nodded. “Do you need Uncle Rio to put you down?”

“No,” Alex answered, tightening his grip on Rio’s neck. “Rio,” he lifted his head from Rio’s chest, “don’t put me down.”

“Okay, buddy,” Rio agreed. “Never put you down. Got it.”

Alex giggled, but settled back into Rio and seemed to go to sleep.

Beth smiled at the two of them. Rio caught her looking and winked.

She stepped closer to him and kissed his cheek. “Behave,” she whispered to him, then went to help Cassie with some cleaning up.

Exhausted by the party, everyone was dropping by the time they got back to the house.

“You two should just stay,” Beth said. “I did your clothes the other day, so they’re clean.”

“Sounds good,” Rio yawned, apparently feeling just as tired as the kids. Marcus, slightly awake, wrapped his arms around Rio’s neck to be carried inside. Rio scooped him up, but went in to grab Jane in his other arm. She was asleep, but nuzzled into his throat.

“Can you get the door, Kenny?” Rio asked. Kenny took the keys from Beth's hand and went to open the door. Rio carried Jane and Marcus upstairs and she heard footsteps back and forth to the bathroom as he had them get ready for bed.

Between the four of them - Beth, Kenny, Danny, and Emma - they made quick work of bringing everything inside. By the time Rio came back down, the three older kids were trudging towards the stairs, probably not capable of staying awake much longer.

Beth went to start on the dishes, but Rio pulled her away.

“They’ll keep ’til morning,” he said. “And my ma rinsed them off, so there’s no risk of anything drying overnight. C’mon.”

“It isn’t that late,” Beth started to say, but Rio dropped onto the couch, then tugged Beth into lying against his front. 

"That was way too many kids,” he mumbled.

Beth laughed. “Half of them were ours,” she reminded him and Rio blinked his eyes open at that. Ours. He looked a little surprised by what she’d just said.

“Ours,” he repeated. “I like the sound of that.”

————————

Bakers and chefs apparently didn’t get Valentine’s Day.

“It’s one of our busiest occasions,” Beth had said. “We’ve got weddings and engagement parties all day. Then, I’m going to collapse into a heap and sleep for a week.”

Which had prevented Rio from making any Valentine’s plans for them.

“I’m sorry,” Beth had tried to apologize, but Rio had kissed her quiet.

“We’ll have our own Valentine’s Day, yeah? Just a little bit later.”

Beth had smiled and agreed, then curled up against him on the couch to take a nap.

It didn’t stop Rio from waking up early on the morning of the 14th to make breakfast. Emma, the early riser of the family, joined him as he mixed pancake batter.

“Are you going to shape them like hearts?” Emma asked, getting the plates to set the table without being asked. “You should do that.”

Rio studied the pan. “I could try,” he said. “I don’t know how nice they’re gonna be though.”

Emma came back for cutlery. “It’s the thought that counts,” she reminded him with a firm look.

Chuckling, Rio put some butter in the pan and got started on trying to make heart shaped pancakes. His first effort was lopsided, but Emma insisted that it looked cute anyways.

“Thanks,” he drawled, ruffling her hair.

Beth was the next to wake up, but she went straight for the shower.

“My book said that Saint Valentine got killed,” Emma said, propping her chin on her hands as she watched him wash berries.

“Yeah,” Rio nodded. “Martyred.”

“What’s that mean?”

So Beth, hair wet, joined them just in time to hear Rio explaining the politics of martyrdom and sainthood. “Should I be worried?” she asked before greeting them both.

“Rio’s explaining who Saint Valentine was,” Emma said.

Beth raised an eyebrow as she went onto her toes for a kiss.

Rio wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her up higher, making her squeal softly as Emma giggled. He kissed her for a long moment, but pulled away before she could get worried about Emma seeing too much.

“I went to church as a kid,” he said with a shrug. “Guess some of it stuck.”

“So it would seem,” Beth said, patting his chest before making a beeline for the coffee maker.

“Thank you for breakfast,” she said later before she went to finish getting ready. “I loved it.”

Rio cupped her face, pushing her hair back as he did before bending to kiss her. “Love you.”

“I love you too.”

After that, it was a whirlwind as Beth left to prep for one of the weddings they were doing that day. Rio got the kids to school, despite a slight mishap with Jane’s valentines for her class.

“I can’t find them!” she wailed.

Rio tied off Emma’s hair and nudged her to go put her coat on.

“They’re in your backpack, peanut,” he said calmly.

“I checked there!”

Rio reached out and set his hand on her shoulder. “Jane,” he said, drawing her attention firmly to him. “Let’s go slowly, okay?”

She nodded and they opened up her backpack. It didn’t take long to find the box of valentines with her homework.

“Oh,” Jane said, looking sheepish.

“It’s okay,” Rio assured her. “We just gotta slow down sometimes, remember? When we’re rushing it’s harder to be careful.”

“I know.”

“Can you get your coat on?” Rio turned her in the direction of the door and she scampered off. Each of the kids also had a container of sweets to share with their classes, which he carried to the van. They’d done this a few times now, swapping cars. Rio couldn’t say that the mama van was his first choice of vehicle, but trying to drive four kids in his car? Technically they could fit. Practically, not so much.

When they got to the drop-off, Rio made sure that each of them had the right box of treats as he waved them off, sighing once the car was empty. Valentine’s Day.

———————

On February 15th, Beth slept in. It took Rio shaking her to wake her up.

“Time is it?” she mumbled into her pillow.

“Ten.”

Beth jerked upright with a screech, but Rio caught her before she could leave the bed.

“It’s Saturday,” he reminded her. “You don’t have to be anywhere for another 3 hours.”

She relaxed. “Oh, right.”

Laughing, he kissed her. “Only reason I’m getting you up now is because I gotta go to work. I’ll drop Emma off at Cassidy’s on my way there.”

“Mmmm,” she hummed, falling against his chest.

“Coffee’s in the pot when you want to get up,” he went on.

“Mmmm, I love you,” Beth murmured, tilting her head back. “You still off on Monday?”

Rio nodded. “You told me not to book anything.”

“Kay good.” She yawned and rubbed her eyes. “We are going to relax so much that we’ll just melt into puddles.”

He laughed. “Sounds good. Don’t forget to eat something.”

“Will do.” She tugged him down for a kiss, then pushed him away. “Go to work.”

With a last brush of his fingers against her cheek, he left the room.

Emma ran in a minute later. “Bye Mom!” She kissed Beth’s cheek.

“Bye Emma, have fun at Cassidy’s. You have your mittens?”

Emma nodded. “And an extra pair of socks”

Beth smiled. “That’s my girl.”

The kitchen door closed a minute later, but the quiet didn’t last. Now aware that Beth was awake, Jane came bounding in, trailed by Buddy. Beth let Jane jump onto the bed before grabbing her and tugging her down.

Jane laughed and curled up against her. “What are we gonna do today?” she asked.

Beth shut her eyes.

“Mommy, sleeping is boring.”

Beth shook her head. “No, it’s nice. I like it.”

Jane sighed and pressed her head into Beth’s chest. She guessed that she had about five minutes of quiet before she had to get up. Jane lasted four.

“What about papier-mâché?”

Beth opened her eyes. “Do we have newspaper?”

Jane nodded.

“Alright, go round it up. I need coffee and breakfast first though.”

“I can make you toast!” Jane sat up. “Rio lets me help him sometimes.”

Beth pulled Jane back to her and kissed her on the top of the head. “How about you take out the bread and butter, then wait until I come to the kitchen to start it, okay?”

“Ok,” Jane agreed, nearly throwing herself off the bed in her eagerness to get back to the kitchen.

For the rest of the weekend, it seemed like everything was conspiring against them. Beth’s Saturday event ran late. Rio got a call that there was a heating problem with some of the units in his building, so he had to head over there early Sunday, then got roped into helping his neighbour deal with ex-boyfriend problems, which made him late to work, so he ran late too.

When he came in on Sunday night around 8, he looked exhausted.

“You’ve had a long day,” Beth commented.

He mumbled something under his breath as he toed off his boots, hung up his coat, and walked over to collapse onto the couch with her.

“Drop off went okay?” he yawned.

Beth smiled to herself and began to scratch lightly at his scalp. When he shivered, she smiled. “Yeah, kids are all set for the next few days at Dean’s.”

He rubbed his face against her chest, scratching his longer than usual scruff against her skin.

“I’m this close to calling you - what was it -“ Beth tried to remember the line, “a scruffy looking nerf-herder.”

She felt his lips pull up. “Can’t argue with that,” he said, melting a little further into her. “Ready for our day off tomorrow?” he asked.

Beth laughed. “Oh, am I ever. I’m considering putting a moratorium on heart shaped things in this household.”

“So I should get rid of the heart shaped stuff I got for you?”

She poked him in the belly. “You better not have bought me anything.”

He didn’t answer.

“Rio!”

He lifted his head finally, looking rumpled, and far too innocent. “It’s for both of us?”

Beth rolled her eyes, but tugged his head back down so that it was cushioned on her chest. “Nice try,” she said.

“So you didn’t spend any money on me?” He turned his head to ask.

Beth was, in fact, spending money. “It’s for both of us.”

He laughed, burying his face in her chest.

“Guess we both broke the rules, huh.”

——————————————————

Beth woke up before Rio, but when she came out of the washroom, he was awake too.

“Happy belated Valentine’s Day, Elizabeth,” he said, leaning over to grab something he’d stored in the nightstand and tossing it onto her side of the bed.

“Open it,” Rio drawled, leaning against the headboard.

Beth eyed him with suspicion as she slid back under the covers. “What is it?”

“You’re the one who likes surprises,” Rio said, “open it. Trust me, it’s a gift for both of us.”

With that, Beth started to unwrap it, revealing a nondescript white box. Rio was just smiling pleasantly at her when she looked up. “Keep going,” he told her.

Beth opened the lid of the box. Confused, she pulled…whatever it was from the box.

“Press the button.”

Hesitantly, Beth did just that. It immediately started buzzing quietly. Her eyes widened and she pressed the button again.

“Top of the line, rechargeable. It’s already fully charged,” Rio said, sitting up. “Didn’t want you to have to wait.”

Beth just stared at him.

“Said I was going to have to get something for when I’m gone,” he reminded her. “We can use it together too, yeah?”

“Oh,” Beth breathed. “That’s not going to -“

“Going to what?” Rio pushed her hair back with his hands, cradling her face.

“It’s not going to bug you?”

Rio sighed and set their foreheads together. “Sometimes I forget how much of an asshole he was,” he muttered. “No, Elizabeth, it’s not going to bother me. It’s gonna make you feel good.”

“You always make me feel good,” she told him truthfully.

He grinned. “That’s good. Always room for improvement though.”

Beth blushed. “I think if we improve anymore, you’re going to kill me.”

“But what a way to go,” Rio shot back, tilting their heads together so that he could kiss her. She squeaked when he toppled her back in bed. “Maybe,” he said, kissing her neck, “we can make you squirt today.”

Beth squeezed his neck. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” Rio moved his head down until he was nosing at her breast through her pajamas. “Off,” he demanded.

Laughing at his petulant tone, Beth pulled off her nightie. Rio hummed and bit her nipple. “Hey!” Beth protested despite the little burst of pleasure it gave her.

“Aww, sorry,” he said, seemingly to her breast, then he kissed it. “Better?”

Beth giggled, reaching down to pull his face back up to hers. “I love you,” she said.

“I love you too,” Rio said. His eyebrow went up when she nudged him onto his back. Shoving the blankets away, Beth touched the inside of his thighs. He’d gone to bed bare, like he always did if the kids weren’t around. He was half-hard and twitched when Beth’s fingers started to massage his balls. “Ah fuck,” he hissed.

She propped herself up with her other arm, resting her head in her palm and watching as she worked his sac. Pressing one finger behind, she grinned when his hips twitched and he moaned.

“Tease,” he panted.

“I dunno,” Beth said. “You started it.”

“Touch my cock,” he turned his head towards her to say. “Please.”

Beth let go of his balls to very slowly brush up his length. “Like this?” She pressed her fingertips against his tip and circled them, just barely applying pressure. Rio chuckled, the sound a little choked.

She didn’t really feel like teasing him for long though. Ever since he’d had her press the button on the vibrator, she’d steadily been growing wetter. “How’s it work?” she asked. “What’s the best way to use it, I mean?”

His teeth flashed with his smile. “Oh, there’s plenty of ways,” he replied. “But I’m thinking you get on your knees and grab onto the headboard.”

Beth took her hand away, only to settle on his stomach as she leaned over to kiss him before doing just that. Rio followed, kneeling behind her and setting his hands on the back of her neck before sweeping them across her shoulders and down her sides to the small of her back.

“You think you can take me?” he asked. Beth nodded. She wanted to _feel_ him, wanted him to be just this side of too much. She felt him shifting on the bed, then he was penetrating her without further warning. Her fingers tightened on the headboard.

Staying deep, he sat back and pulled her with him so that she was almost sitting on him. “Stay,” he said with a squeeze of her hip. His hand disappeared for a couple of seconds, then came back to her, settling on the inside of her thigh. “Think you can ride me like this?”

Beth shifted, rising up as much as she could. She couldn’t go far, never letting more than half of him slip out of her body. She did it a couple of times and as she sank back down, his hips came up to slap against hers.

Beth moaned. “Fuck,” she hissed as she rose up again, shivering when Rio thrust into her again.

“Yeah?” Rio asked, voice husky. Beth nodded. “Good?”

“Very good,” Beth got out, her toes curling.

He pressed his face against her shoulder blade and followed her after his next thrust before retreating again. She didn’t even realize what he was doing until something pressed against her clit and started to vibrate. Beth nearly screamed, but it came out as more of a strangled, “Gah.”

“You want it stronger?” Rio purred into her ear. He was holding the vibrator against her clit with one hand, the other still on her hip. Biting her lip, Beth shook her head, then froze, nodded.

The vibrations grew more intense.

“Oh fuck,” Beth gasped, trying to lift herself up, but quickly abandoning that to just grind herself on Rio’s lap. “I -“

He shifted the vibrator against her clit and Beth lost the thread of her thought. He applied a little more pressure and that was it.

Beth started to come with a strangled cry, her hands tightening on the headboard as she started to squeeze Rio. Who didn’t let up.

“There we go,” he said, nipped her ear lobe. “Come on, Elizabeth.”

Groaning, her head fell back so that she was resting against his shoulder. Whimpering as the vibrations and the feel of him inside of her started to overwhelm her, she tried to lift herself up. She did, a little, then promptly sank back down on his length.

“Yeah,” he encouraged, “like that.”

“I can’t,” Beth protested. “Oh god, I can’t.”

“No?” Rio cooed. “Come on, sweetheart, I know you can.” He lessened the intensity of the vibrator as Beth shivered.

“I think you’re overestimating my thigh strength,” Beth said.

He laughed. “Nah, I’m right. Use the headboard. Pull yourself up.”

Adjusting her grip, Beth did just that a handful of times.

“Nope,” she panted, pushing his hand away so she could get off his lap. “‘Sides,” she added, “I want to see you.”

She shifted so that she could fall onto her back. Rio followed her, planting his fists on either side of her head.

“Yeah?” He nipped her lower lip. “I think I changed my mind.”

Rather than sliding back in, Rio slid away until he was kneeling between her legs.

“There’s something I said we were gonna try,” he said, pushing one, then two, fingers inside.

Beth tried to figure out what he was talking about.

He curled his fingers and started to stroke that spot that made Beth feel like she might be leaving her body.

“You ever do this for yourself?” he asked. “Just work your g-spot?”

Beth shook her head, staring up at the ceiling as she struggled not to close her legs.

Rio hummed, then set the toy back against her clit. Beth moaned in anticipation, but the reality of it was even more overwhelming.

Rio’s fingers kept rubbing against her front walls as he held the vibrator in place.

Beth’s legs flailed against the blankets as she fisted the sheets. “Oh fuck,” she cried out. “Fuck fuck fuck,” she couldn’t stop herself from chanting.

“Come on, Elizabeth,” he coaxed. “Fuck, you’re so wet. Want you to soak my hand.”

Beth trembled. She let out a whine when he started to rub his fingers even harder, which turned into something else when everything clicked into place, seeming to sap Beth of every bit of control she had.

She could hear someone moaning and she was pretty sure that it was her, but she was too busy chasing the sensation of whatever Rio was doing to pay much attention to that. Her whole body seemed to squeeze for the briefest moment, then relax entirely the next.

She slumped into the sheets, whimpering as Rio set the vibrator aside and removed his fingers. He pressed a kiss to her clit as he rose up over her.

“Too much,” she protested.

“Yeah?” he said, setting his hand on her belly as he lay down beside her. “Can’t go again?”

“I swear to God,” Beth said, eyes closed. “You’re going to have to explain to the police that you killed me.”

He laughed. “That would be unfortunate,” he allowed. He shifted beside her and the tip of his cock brushed against her thigh, reminding Beth that he hadn’t actually come yet.

Using what energy she could gather, she turned onto her side so that she could look in his eyes. He looked pleased, almost like he’d been the one to come just now. And when Beth kissed him, it started softly.

Until she reached up and pinched his nipple.

Rio groaned, thrusting against her hip and deepening the kiss.

Moving her leg, Beth could feel that the sheets were wet and her cheeks turned pink at the thought of what was soaking them. She shivered slightly, reaching down to squeeze Rio’s cock and stroke him from root to tip.

Could she go again?

Fuck, Beth decided, surging up into Rio so that she pushed him onto his back and followed. Holding him in place, she sank back down onto his length, hissing at how he felt rubbing against overly tender parts of her body.

He groaned, head falling back onto the pillow as he blinked up at her.

It was Beth’s turn to smirk, although she was aware that she couldn’t drag this out. Her legs were probably going to give out sometime in the near future. So she started to ride Rio, hands on his chest. Setting her fingers over the small peaks of his nipples, she scratched up and down over them in time with her thrusts.

That did it and Rio’s hips rose up, taking her with them, as he started to come. Beth stopped supporting her weight and let herself fall, pushing Rio back to the bed as well, squeezing around him to get every drop.

“Oh fuck,” Rio cursed, digging his heels in and pulling - or rather, trying to pull - Beth down onto him further. He moved her back and forth as he spilled inside of her.

Finally, he was finished and when Beth collapsed onto her back beside him, his eyes were shut.

“You asleep?” she asked.

He groaned.

Beth giggled quietly. “Because I booked us a couple’s massage at two.”

Rio opened his eyes, then turned his head towards the clock. “What time we need to leave?”

“By one.”

He nodded, shutting his eyes again, but reaching out to pull Beth into his side.

Beth knew that they should clean up. Hell, the sheets were probably ruined already. But as Rio’s breathing slowed down, she let herself drift back to sleep.

———————

**March**

“Jane wants to get all of her hair cut off.”

Rio burned his tongue with his sip of coffee and hissed. “What?”

“Jane wants to get a haircut like this,” Beth gestured to the bottom of her ear.

“And you said?”

Beth shifted, looking a little guilty.

Rio slowly raised a brow, aware that it flustered her.

“I said no.”

Rio blew on the steaming surface of the coffee, waiting her out.

“She got upset. I said that it would take too long to grow out,” Beth said.

“And if she doesn’t want to grow it back out?” Rio asked. “What’s the real reason you don’t want her to cut it?” He set the mug down.

“She’s my baby,” Beth mumbled. “She’s never had more than an inch or so cut off. I told her that she wouldn’t be able to have it braided anymore and she said that was fine, she wouldn’t need to when it’s short.”

“She’s got you there,” Rio commented.

Beth’s eyes narrowed. “You think I should let her get it cut.”

Rio winced at her tone. “Yeah.”

She ran her fingertip over the rim of the mug and looked around at the busy café. They’d taken to doing this sometimes, meeting up part way through their days.

Rio set his hand over hers and rubbed the soft skin on the inside of her wrist. “Hey,” he reminded her, “she’s Jane. She just wants to try some different stuff. I know you, Elizabeth. That’s not what your problem is.”

“There’s just so much happening and -“ Beth trailed off.

There had been a lot going on. Ruby and Stan had been taking Sara to follow up doctor’s appointments to check on her kidney. In the meantime, Beth had been taking Harry to a lot of his activities. Annie had gotten tied up with some custody issues over where Sadie would be spending the summer.

“It’s just one more change,” Rio finished for her. Beth nodded. “Pretty small one though.”

“I know.” Beth sighed. “And I’m going to let her do it.”

Rio took her hand, intertwining their fingers. “I know,” he repeated back to her.

“What about you?” she said, changing the subject. “How’s your day going?”

Rio hummed. “It’s good. Got some walk-ins this afternoon, then I gotta start prepping to open up my schedule.”

Beth cocked her head to the side.

“Couple times a year, I take on new clients for big or custom pieces. Didn’t get around to it in the fall,” he conceded, “So in a few weeks, I’ll have consultations all day until my schedule’s full.”

“Then how did Annie get in?” Beth asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I don’t remember hearing about her going to anything like that.”

Rio shrugged. “There’s always cancellations and openings. She lucked out and I wanted something new to work on. Good thing, huh?” He grinned at her, squeezing her hand a little tighter. “Or I wouldn’t have had a chance to meet you that day.”

Beth’s eyes dropped to the table, but there was a pleased curve to her mouth.

“We would have met at soccer,” she reminded him.

“Yeah, but it wouldn’t have been the same. Would have taken us ages to get to know each other. I would have shown up, thinking about how cute you were in your big ass sunhat,” he told her, “and you would have thought I was hot as fuck.”

She lightly kicked him in the shin under the table.

“Am I wrong?”

“Yes,” Beth replied. “I would have thought you were way too full of yourself.”

“Oh baby, only one here too full of me is you,” he teased her quietly.

“I walked into that one,” she groaned.

Rio smiled at her. “Yeah, you did.”

——————————

The next time Rio was at the house, Jane’s newly shorn hair was tucked back in a headband. “Hi Rio!”

He reached out and ruffled her hair. “Hey peanut. I like your hair.”

She reached up to fix it. “Thanks! I can feel the wind on the back of my neck now.”

“Welcome to the club,” he teased.

“I like it too!” Marcus chimed in.

Jane looked pleased with the compliments.

“Did Mom tell you that I got an A+ on my story?” Emma asked, coming into the living room.

“No, she didn’t,” Rio answered. “Does that mean that we get to read it?”

Emma scrunched up her face. “I dunno. Maybe.”

“I bet it’s really good,” Marcus told Emma, jumping onto the couch with Jane to study the elder Boland girl. Naturally quieter than Jane and less interested in the games and toys the boys tended to play with, Emma was the Boland that Marcus spent the least time with. 

“It’s okay,” Emma said.

Rio clucked his tongue. “Nah, you don’t get an A+ for okay. It’s really good.”

Emma flushed. “Maybe later.”

“I’ll be here,” Rio said, flicking a piece of her hair with a finger. “Your mama around?”

“She’s in the shed,” Emma answered.

Rio went out back to find that Beth was, indeed, in the shed. He darted forward to help her pull a box out.

“Oh!” she startled. “When did you get here?”

“Like a minute ago,” Rio said, taking the box and setting it aside. “Getting ready for planting?”

She nodded. “Weather’s good. Ground’s soft enough to start digging.”

“Can I help?”

Beth smiled. “Don’t tease, I’ll put you to work.” She stepped towards him and put her hands in his hoodie pockets with his.

“Sounds good. I’m sure Marcus would be into the idea of digging a bunch of holes too.”

She laughed, shaking her head. “The kids get excited for about an hour, then they get tired. Although knowing Marcus, he’ll take to gardening like a duck to water.”

“Hey,” Rio scolded, “no making my son think he’s perfect. You realize how much of a pain that would be?”

Beth pulled away and went back to digging out whatever it was she was looking for.

There wasn’t really space for both of them to be in the shed, but he didn’t really feel like heading back inside either. “Jane’s hair looks nice.”

“It does!” Beth exclaimed. “I cried when the hairdresser cut it.”

Rio kept his eyes on her, but she didn’t seem upset. Like she felt him looking, she turned her head over her shoulder. “I’m fine. It was just…emotional.” She smiled. “Jane loves it.”

“Looks that way,” Rio agreed.

Beth shook her head. “No I told you so!”

Rio clicked his tongue. “Elizabeth, you think I’m gonna say that?”

“No,” Beth admitted. “You like the high ground too much.”

“Oh do I?” Rio crowded her into the shed, ducking his head when he went through the door.

Grabbing onto the front of his hoodie, Beth pulled him down. “Yes, you do. And you’re just an infuriatingly good person.”

Rio kissed her, hands going right to her ass. “If I were a good person, would I be thinking of fucking you out here with the door open while our kids are inside? Anybody could walk by. That fucking neighbour of yours - Ted or whatever.”

“Ted?” Beth asked.

“The one that keeps offering to help you with the lawn,” Rio said. He never did it when Rio was in sight, but he’d heard it happen twice and Kenny had mentioned it too.

“Oh, Richard.”

“Yeah, the one that seems to think that you’re available,” Rio scowled, “even though he’s met me like three times.”

Beth giggled, capturing his cheeks and holding him in place. “Rio, I don’t give a shit about Richard. Who, might I remind you, is married with two kids. So even if he was interested, I would definitely not be. He just likes those cupcakes I made them.”

“He likes something,” Rio muttered, but kissed her again before she could try to excuse away Dick’s behaviour. He gripped her ass in his hands and squeezed, pulling her closer and hoisting her up a little so that he didn’t have to bend down.

“Rio,” Beth broke the kiss after a moment, “we can’t - out here.”

“No?” He kissed the spot on the underside of her jaw that always made her sigh. “We’re not out in the open.”

“Yeah, well it’s cold.”

“I’ll keep you warm,” Rio offered, kissing down her neck.

Laughing, she grabbed onto his shoulders. “Rio!”

Sighing, he lowered her back down. “Fine,” he sighed. “Put a pin in it.”

She tugged him back. “Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time once the kids are in bed.”

Rio grinned. “Don’t tease.”

“Oh, I’m not teasing.”

—————————————————

Beth pulled Rio down between her legs, kissing him hard.

“You locked the door?” she asked.

He nodded, trailing kisses down her neck. “Yeah. Kids are in bed.”

Her hands tugged his pants open and she immediately started to stroke him.

“Fuck, baby.” Rio’s head hung down as he lifted his hips to give her more space to work. Grabbing the blanket between them, he shoved it aside only to discover that she was naked from the waist down. He groaned, then moved to tear off her pajama top, which was really one of his t-shirts.

Her other hand slid down the back of his jeans to squeeze his ass, so the second her top was off, he stripped.

Burying his face in her neck, he kissed and licked her throat as he parted her legs on either side of his waist. Beth held him in place as he pressed into her with a sigh.

He shivered when she dragged her nails down his spine until her hands could settle on his ass. She pulled him closer, nails biting into his skin as she did.

Rio shoved his face into her neck and started to kiss and lick up to her chin, which he nipped.

“Fuck, you feel good,” he told her. “You been wet all night?”

Beth’s breath hitched as his hips slapped against hers.

“Ever since you promised me we’d have time tonight?” he suggested. She tightened around his length.

She arched her back, rubbing her breasts against his chest. “What about you?” she shot back. “I would have seen if you were hard.”

“Believe me,” Rio kissed her, “it was a struggle.”

Laughing, Beth started to say something, but clapped her hand over her mouth as she moaned, squeezing her legs around his waist.

“Shhh,” she said when she uncovered her mouth. “Not too loud.”

Rio wanted to roll his eyes, but knew she was concerned about broadcasting their intimacy where the kids might hear. So instead, he leaned down and covered her mouth with his to keep either of them from making too much noise.

As he tried to fall asleep a while later, his thoughts turned to the idea of a different bedroom. Maybe one a little more removed from the kids, without doors to the patio that made it a bit drafty in the winter. A new bed, bigger. More pictures on the walls.

Burying his nose in Beth’s hair, Rio decided that he liked the thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to medievalraven and neveroffanon for beta-ing this! And thanks to everyone who reads and comments and kudos! I always get so excited to read every single one of them. As always, please let me know if you think that there's content that should be warned for. 
> 
> I apologize for this taking so long. I just started hating everything about it and had to take some time away. Which brings me to the next thing - this series is almost done. I've had so much fun writing this series and I'm so happy that people have liked it! But it is approaching what feels like the right ending. There’s going to be one, maybe two, more updates and then an epilogue that has a lot of time jumps to different moments in their lives (like the kids going off to school, bringing people home for the holidays). 
> 
> Title from Bryan Adams and Mel C's When You're Gone.


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